Tags: Pharmacy

We’ve talked a bit in in the past about how Pharmacy practice has changed over the years and that Pharmacists are now providing different services to patients. One of the most impactful services that Pharmacists now provide is Medication Therapy Management (MTM).

What is MTM?The official definition of MTM is… medical care provided by pharmacists whose aim is to optimize drug therapy and improve therapeutic outcomes for patients. Really, it is a service provided by an experienced Pharmacist that goes beyond traditional medication consultations. These confidential appointments provide in-depth one-on-one review of all of your medications (prescription, over-the-counter, herbal and nutritional) to ensure that your current drug therapy is both safe and effective.

Any vitamins, supplements or over-the-counter drugs you are taking are safe and effective.

You are not spending more than you need to for your medications.

Is MTM affordable?Yes! MTM is an affordable service available to everyone and, in some cases, is provided at no charge through certain health plans (including some Medicare and state Medicaid programs). The American Pharmacy Association estimates that there are up to 1.5 billion drug-related adverse events each year resulting in $177 billion in healthcare costs. By doing a detailed evaluation, your Pharmacist can identify unneeded treatments, recommend cost-saving alternatives, suggest helpful changes to your prescription regimen, and provide drug and disease education.

Reach out to your local Pharmacist if you are interested in having an MTM appointment for yourself or a loved one.

Jason Miller, Pharm. D.
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

April showers bring…. more snow!?!?! Ugh, I like the change in seasons as much as the next guy but this is getting pretty old, bring on the warm weather! Enough weather ranting, let’s talk about pharmacy. In my very first blog I talked a bit about how the profession of pharmacy has changed over the years and how roles and responsibilities for Pharmacists have adapted to the needs of the healthcare system. In Minnesota, we seem to be on the precipice of another major change in pharmacy.

Much work is being done behind the scenes working with the House and the Senate to address Pharmacist prescribing of certain medications. If passed, this bill would allow for Pharmacists to be able to prescribe for patients;

Medication to be used for the treatment of opioid overdose – These medications are safe to keep on hand for; patients utilizing high doses of opioid medications, households with patients using opioid medications where small children may gain access, patients with illicit drug addiction.

Travel medications recommended by the CDC specifically for patients/residents traveling abroad, the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy will maintain a specific list of these travel medications and update them periodically.

If this bill passes successfully, the hope is that by instituting these services in pharmacies throughout the state it would greatly increase convenience for patients seeking these services. The thought also, is that we could get improved patient care by increasing smoking cessation rates and reducing opioid overdose deaths. Several other states have already adopted these measures and others like it as well, and they have seen some very promising results so far (increased patient satisfaction, improved patient care, reduced healthcare costs).

Stay tuned for more updates, we should have a decision for this legislative session within the next month or so. Also, feel free to advocate to your legislators for the approval of the Pharmacist Prescribing Authority bill!

Jason Miller, Pharm. D.
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

March was National Nutrition Month and our Supermarket Dietitians provided lots of wonderful resources on the Dietitian’s Corner section on our website as well as posted some fantastic content on Facebook and other social media platforms. Even though we are officially into April, I thought I would spend a little time talking about one of the conditions that can arise due to poor nutrition, Osteoporosis or bone density loss.

First let me start with an apology, “I’m sorry”! For years we in the pharmacy have told you that you only needed 1 shingles vaccine in your lifetime, Zostavax. That just changed, there is now a new vaccine to prevent shingles, Shingrix. The Shingrix vaccine is a far superior product that provides much greater protection against the painful condition shingles. Shingrix does such a great job preventing shingles that the recommendations are that even those patients that have already received the Zostavax vaccine should still get the Shingrix vaccine. Continue reading →

Often voted as the most trusted profession, Pharmacists have played a key role in the healthcare team and our communities for years. We are very proud of all of our Pharmacists and thought we could highlight two of them for their outstanding service; Continue reading →

If you have passed by any of our pharmacies lately you may have noticed our new “PharmaSmart” blood pressure machines. If you haven’t…check them out, they are really cool! A couple key features; Continue reading →

Hello blog followers, and greetings from the Pharmacy! It is probably long overdue, but we have added a Pharmacist’s voice to our blog! I look forward to offering a Pharmacist’s perspective on healthcare happenings, medications, and other pharmacy relevant topics on this platform. I also hope to be able to provide some insight into the way of the world from BEHIND the pharmacy counter!

Hi there! I hope you were able to check out my Next-Generation Store Tour – Part 1 video and blog from September. I am now here to take you on part 2, simply because we have so many great, new offerings in our Coborn’s Marketplace stores, I couldn’t fit it all into one blog, or video for that matter. In this video I stop and talk to the Coborn’s Store Director in Isanti, Mary, we visit the Bake Shoppe, Pharmacy and Supermarket Registered Dietitian, come on let’s go!